Entry bubble Keep Food Safe During a Power Outage

By: Joanne | July 29, 2008 | Category: Health

stainless steel refrigerator doorsI woke up this morning to a power outage. Naturally my first instinct was to panic – I can’t make coffee! Then I collected myself, found an electric bill and reported the outage to the power company and within an hour I was grinding coffee beans.

I’m lucky that I’m rarely without power and if it does go out, it’s only for a short time. What concerns me most during a power outage (after coffee) is the food in the refrigerator and freezer. Summertime is when you have to be the most careful about handling food – the heat, humidity and power outages caused by summer storms can all make your food bad, and worse, make you sick.

I know we all hate the idea of throwing food away – it’s so expensive these days and we hate to waste it. But remember it’s better to be safe than sorry. Salmonella and other food-borne illnesses are not to be taken lightly.

The good news is that it’s pretty easy to take care of your food for a short power outage, and there are steps you can take to save your food for a longer outage too. Keep your refrigerator and freezer doors closed. An unopened refrigerator will keep foods cold enough for a couple of hours at least. A freezer that is half full will hold for up to 24 hours and a full freezer for 48 hours. When the power comes back on, use a thermometer to check the temperature of your refrigerator and freezer. If the refrigerator is 40° F or colder, and the freezer is still colder than 40° F, the food is safe.

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